Some of you may have had the honor to meet Muhammad Ali over the years as he celebrated the opening and expansion of the center with us, honored the excellent physicians and staff here and attended Celebrity Fight Night, which has so generously benefited the center for decades. If so, you were surely witness to his benevolence.

Muhammad Ali rose to fame as a champion boxer, but his legacy extends to one of a beloved hu­manitarian and charitable philanthropist whose brave struggle with Parkinson’s disease inspired everyone at the center to work tirelessly toward improved treatment, support for our patient’s families and finding a cure.

Muhammad and Lonnie Ali have lent their name and consistent support to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center through the years, providing an oppor­tunity for the center to reach a much broader audience and to show the world how lives are being changed by the amazing physicians, researchers and educators right here at Barrow.

Tens of thousands of patients from this region, and millions of patients throughout the world have improved care as a result of this support from the Alis, and are benefiting every day from some of the critical research and education being done at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

The Alis have partnered with us to continually raise funding support so that we can strive toward improved patient care, an increase in family support programs and the next break­through discovery in the fight to end Parkinson’s disease.

Muhammad Ali believed that the standard of care should be the same for everyone battling this disease, regardless of fame or fortune, and together with Lonnie, worked with the center to make that a reality.

We have been honored that the Alis have shown great confi­dence in Barrow and we have been very privileged to walk alongside them in the journey to provide critically needed patient care for all those afflicted by this devastating disease and other move­ment disorders.